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“I knew I should have—”
He shoved his face an inch from Julius’s. “If you finish that sentence, I swear to god we’re gonna brawl right here. Don’t you dare say you should have been undercover instead of me.”
To his shock, Julius rocked back a step. Then another.
Now that he had some breathing room, he realized that his brother showing up here actually provided the help he needed.
He leaned close. “By the way, there’s something in my trunk I need you to take care of for me.”
Julius cocked a brow.
Wordlessly, Jennings finished the grocery shopping and paid for the purchases. Julius bought the random pistachios, olive oil and cleaning spray in his cart and trailed him to the car a minute later.
He popped the trunk and they stared down at Bones. His eyes were open and filled with fury.
Julius heaved a sigh. “Fuck.”
* * * * *
Wren poised her fingertip over the contact on her phone for the rehab facility. Her heart throbbed in rhythmic bursts, fast or slow, based on what noises were around her.
The sound of two nurses talking just outside the break room door had her heart galloping until they moved away. Then it slowed a bit, allowing her to catch her breath.
Sentry warned her about calling her brother, but she really, really needed to hear his voice, for him to tell her that he was all right, and she’d made the right decisions for both of them.
She set her phone on the table next to the slice of pizza she’d pulled out of the employee fridge. For so long, stress had caused her stomach to cramp and made it difficult to eat at times just like this.
I don’t have to call. I shouldn’t call. He’s okay where he is and doesn’t need to hear from me.
She needed the connection with someone who knew her. Someone who cared.
Jennings’s rough and rugged features loomed in her mind. If he saw her now, he’d pull her into his lap and make her feel safe. He’d brush his lips across her brow.
And she’d hang on tight to him, because Jennings had become her rock.
She really needed to stop thinking about that man. When this was all over, she could return to her dull life of work and loneliness. He would— Well, who knew what Jennings would do after he walked away from her.
She issued a slow sigh and shut off her phone. The black screen gave her a wakeup call about her life. She truly was in this alone. Once her brother got out, he might remain sober, but that didn’t mean he’d be there for her. She had to face reality.
She wouldn’t miss the club at all. But the Sentry team had been great to her. And Jennings…
She pushed out another sigh. The rumble of voices had her glancing at the time. Damn, she’d wasted her entire break sitting here trying to decide whether or not to call Danny. Now she didn’t even have time to eat.
She got up and tossed the food in the trash. Then she scooped up her phone and swung toward the door.
A voice reached her. Low. Distinct. It had a soothing note right now, as if the speaker were pacifying somebody. But she only remembered the anger echoing from the speakerphone in that church.
Sucking in a sharp breath, she inched to the doorway. The man was down the hall and to the right. The singsong rise and dip of his tone sounded different from the bellowing he was capable of.
She gripped her phone. Calling Jennings would bring him running—and perhaps the entire Sentry team with him. But they might miss the man.
After listening a minute longer, she realized his voice was fading away. He was moving down the corridor.
She had one chance.
Darting out of the break room, she cast a look around for the man. Just up ahead, past the nurse’s station. He paused to say goodbye to the nurses sitting there doing patient charts.
Wren hung back, giving him time to finish and go on his way.
